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Innovation Must-Read: Self-Affirmation and Economic Decision Making
By Sean Luechtefeld on 06/10/2010 @ 06:26 PM
This morning, I realized that I missed last week’s guest post at Applying Behavioral Sciences in the Real World (a surprising realization, given that I stalk Mindy’s blog regularly!). In the latest post, Mindy features research at the intersection of behavioral economics and self-affirmation theory conducted by Crystal Hall, Assistant Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.
To read the full text of the article, Can Combating Self-Perceived Stereotypes Change Behavior?, click here.
Crystal’s central research question asked whether or not it was possible for people to overcome the stereotype threats that typically hinder performance. She gives a clear example of the stereotype threat facing female mathematicians. As women are typically regarded as unable to excel in areas like math and science, women tend to do poorly on tests in these subjects when primed to think about their gender prior to the exam. Likewise, low-income individuals tend to be associated with poor financial decision making, making it even harder for them to overcome the challenges they face. Crystal wanted to know if individuals could confront these stereotype threats and reverse the trends they typically produce.
To address these questions, Crystal and her colleagues set up an experiment in which low-income individuals from a soup kitchen in New Jersey were placed into either a control group or an experimental group. Those individuals in the experimental group were asked to describe a moment during which they felt extremely proud of themselves, eliciting positive emotion and higher levels of self-efficacy. Those individuals in the control group were asked to describe the type of foods they typically eat. Once they completed their written responses, they were given a gift card, thanked for their participation and allowed to leave. Participants thought this signified the end of the study. However, once they left, they were approached with information about how they may be able to take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Crystal and her colleagues found that members of either the experimental group or the control group were equally as likely to stop and talk to the person offering information on the EITC. However, members of the experimental group (whose self-worth were affirmed) were far more likely to take the potentially financially-beneficial information with them than were members of the control group. In other words, the individuals who were empowered by having recalled an experience when they felt proud were more likely to take information that could benefit them. Although more research needs to be done to enrich these findings, this study suggests that such empowerment contributed to the feeling that individuals could overcome financial difficulties and break down the barriers constructed by stereotype threats.
Not only do I find this research fascinating, but I also think it’s a good representation of the type of behavioral economics research Mindy conducts and features at Applying Behavioral Sciences. The Website is full of rich tidbits of information and tools for expanding economic opportunity. Crystal’s research is a perfect example – empowering people more generally allows them to feel empowered to take control of their financial well-being. While it’s a simple concept, this research contributes to our understanding of economic decision making. Better yet – it’s innovative. Thanks, Mindy, for sharing yet another wonderful resource!
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